Giles Corey
Giles Corey (Aug 1611-19 Sept 1692) was a blood witch farmer who was accused of witchcraft along with his wife Martha during the Salem Witch Trials. After being arrested, Giles refused to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. He was subjected to pressing to force him to plead (the only example of such a sanction in United States history) and died after three days of torture. Biography Giles Corey was born in England sometime before August 16, 1611, the date he was baptized. He was the son of Giles and Elizabeth Corey. He moved to Massachusetts by 1640. A prosperous farmer, Giles was married three times. He married his first wife, Margaret, in England, and had four children: Elizabeth, Martha, Deliverance, and Margaret. His second wife was Mary Bright, whom he married on April 11, 1664. They had a single child named John. In 1676, he was brought to trial for allegedly beating to death one of his indentured farm workers, Jacob Goodall. According to witnesses, he had severely beaten Goodall with a stick after he was allegedly caught stealing apples from Corey's brother-in-law, and though he sent him to receive medical attention ten days later, Goodall died shortly thereafter. Since corporal punishment was permitted against indentured servants, Corey was exempt from the charge of murder and instead was charged with using "unreasonable" force. Numerous witnesses and eyewitnesses testified against Corey, as well as the local coroner, and he was found guilty and fined. Mary Bright died at age 63 on August 27, 1684. Corey later married his third wife, Martha Rich. Martha was admitted to the church at Salem Village, where Giles had lived. At the time of the witch trials, Corey was 80 years old and living with Martha in the southwest corner of Salem Village, in what is now Peabody. Salem Witch Trials Martha Corey was arrested for witchcraft on March 19, 1692. Corey was so swept up by the trials that he initially believed the accusations against his wife, until he himself was arrested based on the same charge on April 18, along with Mary Warren, Abigail Hobbs, and Bridget Bishop. The following day, they were examined by the authorities, during which Abigail Hobbs accused Giles of being a wizard. Corey denied the accusations and refused to plead, was sentenced to prison, and subsequently arraigned at the September sitting of the court. According to the law at the time, a person who refused to plead could not be tried. To avoid persons cheating justice, the legal remedy for refusing to plead was "peine forte et dure". In this process, prisoners were stripped naked, and heavy boards was laid on their bodies. Then rocks or boulders were laid on the plank of wood. As a result of his refusal to plead, on September 17, Corey was subjected to the procedure by Sheriff George Corwin, but he was steadfast in that refusal, nor did he cry out in pain as the rocks were placed on the boards. After two days, Corey was asked three times to enter a plea, but each time he replied, "More weight," and the sheriff complied. Occasionally, Corwin would even stand on the stones himself. Robert Calef, who was a witness along with other townsfolk, later said, "In the pressing, Giles Corey's tongue was pressed out of his mouth; the Sheriff, with his cane, forced it in again." There are several accounts of Corey's last words. The most commonly told one is that he repeated his request for "more weight", as this was how it was dramatized in The Crucible, but it may also have been "More rocks." Another telling notes it as, "Damn you. I curse you and Salem!" Because Corey refused to plead, he died in full possession of his estate, which would otherwise have been forfeited to the government. It passed on to his two sons-in-law, in accordance to his will. Corey's wife Martha was hanged three days later on September 22, 1692. She had a son from a previous marriage named Thomas; he showed up as a petitioner for loss and damages resulting from his mother being executed illegally during the witch trials. He was awarded £50 on June 29, 1723. The gruesome and public nature of Corey's death may have caused residents of Salem to rethink their support for the witch trials. Corey was absolved of the crime in 1712, although Martha was not. Despite Corey's efforts to protect his estate by refusing to plead, George Corwin still attempted to extort money from Corey's heirs after the witch trials. In 1710, Corey's daughter Elizabeth and her husband John Moulton filed a lawsuit seeking damages from Corwin. Her statement to the court read, "After our father's death the sheriff threatened to seize our father's estate and for fear thar of we complied with him and paid him eleven pound six shillings in money." Category:17th century births Category:17th century deaths Category:Males Category:Blood witches Category:Married characters Category:Salem Witch Trials Category:Executed for witchcraft